


You're Despicable when You're Me

by BookwormQueen27



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King, Despicable Me (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Crossover, Dead Moms, F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Spies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:40:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25099324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookwormQueen27/pseuds/BookwormQueen27
Summary: Charles was an ex villain, and he was glad that was all behind him. That was until a certain Agent Schlimmer appeared, taser in hand.
Relationships: Charles Deetz/Delia Deetz
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	You're Despicable when You're Me

**Author's Note:**

> So, I was watching Despicable Me 2 and noticed how similar Delia and Lucy were (Honestly, I think redheads with an over the top personality are the greatest, fight me) And being both a huge Grucy and Charles/Delia fan, I thought what would be better than to write this! So, I hope you enjoy!

Charles leaned against the wall outside his house and sighed. Around him, a few pre teenage girls ran and screamed, jumping from obstacle to obstacle. At the head stood Lydia Deetz, who was dressed darkly in a zombie Anne Boleyn costume she begged to wear. Her black hair was pulled into a regal bun as she raced around, jumping over bear traps and old inventions as one might jump over a crack in the cement. Laurence was smiling from the back, dressed in an executioner’s attire, standing a good head over the girls. It was sweet. 

Parents judged from their corners where they muttered in tight huddles. Charles could laugh though. Everyone was having fun. And, yes, it could be dangerous, but what was life without a few risks?

His phone suddenly rang loudly, breaking his train of thought, “Hello?” He spoke into the device quietly, as he moved inside the house.  
“Is this Charles Deetz?” A weak voice came through the speaker. 

“Yes?” 

A worried chuckle left the person on the other end, “I’m from A Cake A Day and-”

Charles looked out the window, a soft smile on his lips as he watched his daughter yell something at her friends, “Ah, yes, the cake is late,” 

“Well, it seemed we lost your order…” 

A humorless chuckle left the man, “I’m sorry, I must be hearing you wrong,” He rubbed his chin, “It almost sounded like you just said you lost the cake order,”

“Yeah,” The woman sighed slightly, “I mean, on half of the bakery, we are so sorry, and we are willing to offer you a full refund, it was just a mistake-”

“Yes, a mistake is a very light way of stating it,” Charles growled, knowing how excited Lydia had been over the whole cake design, “Where do you expect me to get a cake on such a short notice? It’s my daughter’s birthday today,” 

“We don’t know, sir-”

“I expect a full refund, no questions asked,” He hung up the phone and rubbed his temples. Where on earth was he going to get a cake? A sudden idea came to his head. He quickly went back to his contact and clicked on the name.

“Dad?” Laurence picked up after a single ring, “Where are you?”

“Come to the kitchen, now!” The older Deetz moved quickly to his over the top kitchen that got no use. 

The teenager on the phone was quiet for a moment, “Why?...”

“Just do it,” He hung up.

Charles quickly went looking through the dozens of shelves and drawers he had in the kitchen, hopping to find some sort of cake mix.

“What happened?” Laurence entered the kitchen, confused by the sight of his father on his hands and knees, looking like a mad man. 

Charles looked at his eldest child, a look of panic in his eyes, “We don’t have a cake,” He went to another cabinet, “You can decorate and make box cake right?”  
Laurence nodded, remembering how many days he and his mom had cookoffs, like they had seen on T.V., both working for both the best tasting cake and the greatest design. Those were the good days. A soft smile grew on his lips, “Lydia wanted a red velvet, right?” Charles nodded from his spot, “Well, first, we need cake pans, you get those, I’ll work on the batter,” Laurence quickly grabbed three boxes of old cake mix, for when he was too lazy to make his own batter, “And hopefully, mom’s will be on us, this cake won’t be half-bad,” 

\------

Charles was covered with icing and other weird sprinkles by the time the cake was finished, but, if he was honest, Laurence didn’t do a horrible job on the cake. One could easily look at it and see that it was a castle, maybe, at least, he hoped it would be up to Lydia Deetz’ standards. 

“Happy Birthday to Lydia,” All the guests stood up as he walked out to the backyard, the cake in his grasp. The girl herself was sitting on the ground, a wide smile on her lips. At least she was happy now, that was really good. 

“Happy Birthday to you,” He lightly sang as he placed the cake on the ground. Lord, it was a bloody mess, but she looked so happy. 

Lydia, instead of blowing out the melting ‘13’ candle on the cake, threw herself at the messy man, her face bright, “Thank you so much,” She buried her face into his beard, earning a slight chuckle from her father. Lord, he missed his daughter, but of course it had been hard. After all, Emily was the girl’s whole world and losing her when she was nine killed the young girl. But, now she was happy, and that was all that mattered. 

“You’re candles dripping wax onto the castle,” The girl pulled back, her eyes wide as she looked at the cake, and just as her father had said, the red of the candle was bleeding onto the grey of the castle shaped cake. 

“Make a wish, Lyds,” One of her friends groaned as she pulled on the birthday girl’s gown.

The girl quickly blew, knocking out both wicks quickly as everyone clapped. Laurence began to cut into it, earning a gasp from his sister, “Look,” She turned to her friends, “It’s the castle's blood,” She pointed to the red cake. 

Laurence stuck his tongue out at the teenager as he handed her the cake, “For thy lady,” He handed her the cake as he dipped into a very small bow. The girl took it fast and ran up to her father, giving him yet another hug. 

She leaned close to his ear, making sure to not drop the cake, “I know you made this,” Charles smiled at her words, “Thank you,” Yes, Lydia Deetz was happy once more. 

\------

As he was watching his daughter tell her friends some new grand story he had thought up, someone pulled him to the side, harshly. 

“I don’t know-” He came eye to eye with one of his neighbors, Margo, “It’s you…”

“Charles,” The woman let out an obnoxious fake laugh, “I have some news for you!” She clapped her hands together lightly.

Charles just waved her off and turned to head back to Lydia’s party, “I told you I’m not interested,” 

Margo grabbed onto his sleeve, “I’ve found you a good blind date this time,” She pulled him closer to her, the smell of Febreeze rolling off her in ways, “It’s been four years since Emily died,” Charles cridged at the thought of his late wife’s death.

“And, I’m still mourning,” He paused, “This is quite an inappropriate time, at my daughter’s birthday party,” He hissed, making sure no one else could hear the words.  
“Fine, but I won’t give up on you,” Charles went back to the party, waving off the woman. He had no time for things like love. 

\-------

The sound of scratching woke Charles up. Lord, did his children forget to let out the dog again? He rose slowly, wincing as his back popped. Beside him, the alarm clock flashed ‘9:07’, earning a groan from the man. After all the children that had been at the house yesterday, he had wanted to sleep in later, still, leaving the dog in the house when she had to go, that would be much more important. 

The oldest Deetz quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a dark shirt, not wanting to look like a slob and moved into the hallway. As he had suspected, Sandy, their small, blonde dog was sitting by the front door, scratching. 

“One second girl,” He yawned, still tired without his coffee. As he pulled open the door, the dog shot out, moving to the bushes. Charles shook his head and grabbed the newspaper from the mat. He quickly turned back to the dog, who now seemed interested in a stray cat that was wandering through his neighbors yard. 

“Sandy,” He warned, moving quickly to grab the dog. A low rumble echoed from the creature, but, thankfully, she didn’t bark.

“Mr. Deetz?” A sudden voice made the man jump and turn, his hand on his racing heart. This couldn’t be good.

“Uh, I’m sorry if my children did anything to your yard, Laurence just is artistic and Lydia-” He paused, realizing he had no idea who the woman he was speaking to was. “Yes?”

She continued walking closer to him, dear Lord, what could this mean. Her eyes were covered by a large pair of bright sunglasses and she was wearing a purple jacket, even though the summer heat was already growing warm. In a flash though, she raised her glasses, revealing bright brown eyes, and a smile grew on her face, “Hi,” She waved, as if greeting an old friend. Okay, this was weird. 

“Hi?” 

The woman didn’t pay any mind, instead, she went to her bright purple colored purse and pulled out a badge of sorts, “Agent Delia Schlimmer of the AVL,” She held it up, before realizing that it was upside down. A blush filled her cheeks as she flipped it back around, “Oops…” Quickly though, her face went blank, and she threw the card back into her bag, “Sorry, uh,” She pushed a strand of hair from her face, “You’re going to have to come with me,” 

Charles laughed to himself, “Uh, sorry, no,” He turned away from the woman, reaching into his pocket. Some old gum, a spare penny, his fingers touched something else. Ah, yes, one of his favorite tools. In a flash, he turned around, the invention growing as he moved, “Freeze ray,” He shouted, the tool screeching as it was shot.  
The woman rolled her eyes as if in slow motion, and pulled out her own weapon, a gun that shot out a steady blast of fire, “You know,” She put the weapon away, and walked boredly to the shocked man, “You should really announce your weapons after you fire them, Mr. Deetz,” 

“How?...”

She took the top off a lip glass she had pulled out of her pocket, “For example,” She aimed it at the man. Charles felt everything go numb as something hit him squarely in the chest, causing him to tumble to the ground in a heap, “Lipstick taser,” The woman, Delia, proudly beamed at the weapon in her hand, “It works so good,” Her eyes fell to the man on the ground in front of her and bit her lip. At least he wasn’t as big as the last man she had to throw in her trunk. 

Delia quickly grabbed his collar and began to drag him to her purple Beetle, which was parked on the curve, thankful that this man had the sense to wear a belt. God above knew she didn’t want to see more than she had to. Quickly she forced him into the trunk and slammed it shut. Sometimes, she knew she wasn’t paid hardly enough. 

\-------

As Charles came too, he knew two things, it was dark, and this was definitely not his house. Quickly though, the trunk was opened, allowing the man to roll out onto the floor of wherever he was, each one of his old bones popping as he did so. 

“Good afternoon, Mr. Deetz,” A voice pulled his attention from the pins and needles his body was feeling. “I apologize in our methods of getting you here,” An older lady sat at a table in front of him, a half smoked cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth. 

“I don’t!” Charles groaned at the sound of the woman behind him, the woman who shoved him in the car. He turned to her, glaring harshly, but it did little to wave her giggles, “I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” She gave him a look of amusement, “I’m not going to lie, I enjoyed every second of it,” Her hand went to the top knot in her bright red hair, “It gave me a bit of a buzz,” She rambled on, much to the annoyance of Charles, “More than my vapes do-”

“That’s enough, Agent Schlimmer,” The woman at the table took a long drag of her cigarette before placing it in an over-filled ashtray.

“Sorry,” She went back to the professional blank face. 

Charles rose to his feet, annoyed on how quickly the two woman seemed to ignore the fact that they had one, kidnapped him, and two, left his two teenagers home alone, “Okay, this isn’t okay,” He winced as his knee popped, but continued to the table the smoking woman was sitting at, “I don’t know who you people think you are, but-”

“We are the AntiVillain League,” The woman at the table brushed back her grey hair, “A ultra secret organization dedicated to fighting crime on a global scale,” A screen appeared on the wall behind Charles, making the man turn around quickly, “Rob a bank, we’re not interested. Kill someone,” Charles’ brows creased as he turned back to the grey haired woman at the table, “Not our job. But, you want to melt the polar ice caps, or vaporize Mount Fuji, or even,” She squinted at the man, “Steal the moon,” Charles looked away, embarrassed at what he tried to do when the stress of Emily’s death grew to be to much, “Then, we notice,” She pulled another cigarette out of somewhere and began to smoke it, much to the annoyance of the Deetz.

“First of all, you have no proof that I stole the moon,” He began to pace, wondering what a bunch of ‘good guys’ wanted with him, “Second, after I did that, I put it back,” He defended. 

The woman took a long drag, “We are well aware of that,” She leaned back in her seat, “But, that is not why we brought you here,” Charles let out a soft sigh of relief, “I am the director Juno Shoggoth,” She rubbed her temples slightly, seemingly tried, before turning to the redheaded woman who had made her way over to the table, “Agent Schlimmer,” She gave her expecting looks. 

“Oh, uh, me now?” Delia laughed awkwardly to herself, before turning to Charles, who was still, rightfully, confused over the whole situation, “Uh, recently,” She guested over to the large screen on the wall. An image of a huge magnet shaped plane of sorts filled the screen. He watched as it picked up a whole building and quickly vanished, “A top secret lab disappeared from the Arctic circle,” She turned to him, her eyes wide, “Yeah, the whole entire lab, just,” She waved her hand and made a loud whooshing noise, “Gone,” A large smile appeared on her face, “Where did it go?” She asked, wrinkling her nose slightly. 

Charles shook his head slightly, “I don’t care,” 

Delia still carried on, her eyes glued to the screen as two scientist appeared, a purple vial of sorts in one of their hands, “The lab was devoted to experiments involving PX-41, a mutation serum,” A bunny was placed on the counter in front of the scientist, “What is PX-41, you ask,” Charles blankly stared at the screen, “It’s uh, pretty bad, look,”

On the screen, one of the scientists stabbed the bunny with the syringe full of the purple serum. Out of the corner of his eye, Charles noticed Delia wince and grow slightly pale at the image, but she didn’t look away. 

Quickly, the once snow white colored bunny grew larger in size, it’s fur now purple and it’s teeth sharp. The creature growled loudly and jumped off of the table and attacked to two scientists behind it. Charles turned away. 

“You usually,” He looked back up, the screen now dark, “Don’t see that in, uh, bunnies,”

“As you can see,” Juno spoke up once more, “In the wrong hands, the PX-41 serum could be the most dangerous on earth,” She looked down at the lighted death stick in her fingers, “Fortunately, it had a very distinct chemical footprint, and using the latest cam tracking technology, we found traces of it in the Paradise Mall,” The screen lit up again, this time an image of the local mall filling the screen, and not some homicidal bunny rabbit.

“The mall?” Charles rolled his eyes.

“Yes,” Juno let out a dry cough, “One of these shop owners is a master criminal. That is where you come in,” She pointed a long finger at the confused Deetz, “As an ex-Villain, you know how a Villain thinks, how they act, and so forth,”

Delia spoke up, “The plan is to set you up, undercover that is, at a shop in the mall, where, hopefully that is, you’ll be able to-”

“Okay,” Charles put up his hand, stopping the red haired woman from speaking, “I see where this is going, with all that ‘Mission Impossible’ stuff, but no,” He turned to Juno, “No, I have my children to worry about, and,” He remembered what did now, “I’m a businessman, I am working on a line of different jams and jellies,”

Juno let out a rough chuckle, much to the annoyance of Charles, “Jams and jellies?” 

“Yes,” He began to walk away, not willing to be apart of whatever this was any longer, “So, thanks, but no thanks,” He froze, “And here’s a tip,” He turned to look at both of the women behind him, “Instead of tasing people and kidnapping them, maybe you should just give them a call,” He turned back around, “Good day,” 

From behind him, he heard Delia say “I’ll show him out,”, but he ignored it. Of course, that was harder said than done when she appeared in front of him and began to ramble about something. Thankfully, after having two children, he had grown quite well at tuning out things he didn’t want to hear.

She quickly lead him up a few flights of stairs, before they reached a heavy door, “So, I guess this is where I leave you,” She flashed him a warm smile, before reaching for something in her handbag, “Uh, here,” It was a bright blue card, that merely had the name Delia Schlimmer and her number on it, “Look, I probably shouldn’t be saying this outloud,” She brought her hand up to a stray piece of hair, “But, your work as a villain was pretty awesome, so if you ever want to get back to something just as awesome,” She pointed to the card in his hand, “Give us a call,” With that she left Charles alone.

The Deetz just rolled her eyes and pocketed the card, before he opened the door. His eyes quickly fell upon the wooden rowboat that sat alone by a makeshift deck. Hell no.

\-------

Charles groaned as he entered his house, the sky now very dark, his arms limp after how much he had to row to get back to land. On the couch, Laurence was watching one of his Drag Queen shows, and Lydia was busy texting on her phone. 

“Where have you been?” Laurence questioned from his spot on his couch, his eyes not leaving the screen.

“Glad to see that you care,” Charles quickly collapsed into his chair, “I was kidnapped,” 

“Sure,” Lydia rolled her eyes as she looked at her father.

“I was,” He looked at the clock on the wall, noting that it was well past midnight, “Why aren’t you in bed?” 

“Because it’s summer?” 

Charles rose and turned off the T.V., knowing how cranky both of the teenagers got if they stayed up late, “Go to bed,” Laurence stuck his tongue out at his father, but quickly left to go upstairs. Lydia, however, slowly rose from the couch, her eyes still glued on her phone. “Who are you texting,” 

“A friend,” She stated.

“Who is this friend?”

“Alex,” 

“Boy or girl?” Charles went into dad mode, a small smile on his lips.

“Why does it matter?” Lydia smiled at her father, “Boy, no need to worry,” With that she took off upstairs, hopefully going to at least pretend to go to bed. 

Charles let out a soft sigh. Lydia had never been shy with the fact she was a lesbian, mostly due to the fact Emily had been what he called a ‘raging bisexual’. A yawn ripped its way from his throat and he realized how tired he was after the messy day he had just gone through. His eyelids grew heavy the longer he stood up. If one thing was clear, it was the fact that he needed some well deserved sleep. 

\-------

Charles quickly made his way downstairs when he awoke in the early afternoon the next day. As always, in one of the far corners, Dr. Dean was sitting in a corner, tinkering on some old weapon of sorts, instead of testing new recipes. But, from the looks of it, the jar of a bright red substance looked slightly promising. 

“How is today’s flavor, Dr. Dean?” 

Maxie quickly shoved whatever he was working on into a drawer, his head snapping to look at Charles, “Uh, today’s flavor allowed me to put in every flavor known to man,” He watched as the Deetz opened the container and grabbed a large amount with his fingers. Charles’ face turned slightly green as he forced himself to swallow it, a weak smile appearing on the man’s face. 

“It tastes... good,” He gagged slightly, “I love the flavor of…”

“It’s horrible, isn’t it?” Dr. Dean asked, his head falling into his hands.

“Just because I don’t love it, doesn’t make it horrible,” 

The man at the table put up his hands, “I have something I’ve been meaning to tell you,”

“Dr…”

The older man shook his head, “I miss the thrill of being evil, all the crime and the plots, it’s what I live for,”

Charles looked at his oldest friend, “I don’t understand,”

“I’ve had an offer of employment elsewhere,” The man bluntly stated.

“You have to be joking,”

The doctor shook his head, “I’ve thought this through, and I wish for you to support me as I go,” Maxie pressed a button on the top of his desk, the whole surface quickly folding up into a suitcase of sorts. 

“Then, I will,” Charles sadly smiled at his friend, “But, you must at least say goodbye to the kids first,” The two slowly left the basement.

\--------

As usually, both of the teenage Deetz were watching some odd show in the living room. This time, it seemed to be a sappy Hallmark movie that they were arguing over. 

“I have some big news,” Charles walked in front of the television, much to the annoyance of his children. 

“Move!” Lydia groaned, “The prince was about to leave someone!” She threw a pillow at the tall man. 

“No! He was going to stay with her because he loves her!” Laurence pushed his sister from her spot.

“Lies!” 

Charles rubbed his temples, “I have important news,” Both of the teenagers looked at him with bored eyes, still fighting, “I’ve gotten a new job!”

“Yay! Now move!” Lydia dramatically groaned at her father.

“Don’t you want to know what the job is?”

“I want to see who this fu-I mean freaker marries!” 

“Well, I guess that means you don’t want to hear about how your father is now a real life spy,”

“That’s Russian Propaganda!” Laurence shouted, not paying any attention to his dad. 

Lydia was about to shout something else when her father’s words sunk in, “Wait, spy?” 

Charles smirked, “Oh, yes, I’ve merely been recruited to be a part of a top secret mission, and I might even save the world,” He paused and dramatically sighed, “But, I guess Hallmark is more exciting anyway…”

“No!”

“What?! You can’t leave it at that!” Laurence complained, “Tell us everything!” At least he had their attention.

\-------

As Charles stood outside the shop he had been told was his ‘headquarters’ of sorts, he knew this had to be a joke. In bright pink letters the words the words ‘Bake My Day’ smile down at him. No, there was no way this was going to A: Work out, and B: Be as much fun as the Agency swore it would be. Still, the tall man entered the bakery.

The moment he stepped into the building, his nose was assaulted with the sweet smell of sugar. It all smelled so sweet, so bright. His eyes quickly moved to the counter top area, which was already, thankfully, full of cupcakes and other baked goods. They were well made, the treats. He grabbed one of the cupcakes labeled ‘Dark Chocolate Delight’, the only one that truly sounded good for the amount of carbs it had. Surely no one would notice if one cupcake was-

“Good morning!” Delia’s bright voice startled Charles, causing the cupcake’s icing to hit his cheek instead of this mouth. “Oh, you have a little something right…” She pointed to her left cheek.

“You don’t say,” He flatly stared at her. The woman seemed to not understand how sarcastic he was being.

“Oh,” She moved closer to him, “I’ll get it,” She brought her thumb up to his face and began to try to wipe away the dark icing, but instead it only smeared, “It’s, uh, just spreading,” She began to rub harder, much to the man’s annoyance.

“Stop,” He pushed her off and reached for a napkin that sat on the counter. Lord, did this woman not understand the idea of personal space? “What are you doing here?” Honestly, this woman must have no life, if she only came to check on him. 

Delia just smiled to herself, “Oh, I’m on assignment from Juno,” She explained, as if that cleared up anything, “I’m your new partner, yay!” Jazz hands. Lord, she was doing jazz hands. 

Charles almost laughed, “What? No, Juno said nothing about a partner,” 

A light chuckle left the red haired woman, “Well, it seemed like due to your past, everyone else refused to work with you,” Lord, why did she sound so happy about that. He was willing to take someone else, literally, anyone else, “But, not me! I stepped up,” She pulled out a large chain from under her jacket, and began to fiddle with it, “Plus, I’m kinda new, so I have to do what they tell me, but this is exciting!” 

“Exciting?” Charles could not tell if this woman was fake or if she was truly always this, well, happy.

“Do you like the name? I picked out myself, kinda cute, friendly,” She walked to the back end of the counter, looking at the arrangement of treats in the case, quickly grabbing a ‘Earth Friendly’ cupcake before turning back to Charles, “So, are you ready to be a spy?”

The man just rolled his eyes, “Let’s get this over with,” 

Delia smiled and pulled something down from the ceiling, a upside down mixing bowl of sorts, and motioned for the man to come over. With a reluctant sigh, stepped under it. He quickly realized that, one, this was kinda awesome, the amount of technology that they were using to look around the mall. And two, he was closer to Delia than he had ever wanted to be. She even smells sweet, but also like lavender, a weird mix.

“So,” Charles slowly spoke, wanting to break the awkwardness that engulfed the two, “Who’s on our list?”

Delia smiled to herself as she moved around to move the image on the screen in front of them, “We have Jill, owner of 3.14 Pie-” An older woman filled the screen.  
“Not her, the worst thing she does is buy her pies from the store,” He quickly waved off the woman. 

The screen moves to look at a purple haired woman who was dusting off a pile of books, “Well, we have Grace, owner of Beauty in the Beast Bookstore,”  
Charles groaned to himself, “Too soft-” The sudden sound of the door opening caused both adults in the upside down mixing bowl to shoot apart, Delia hitting her head on the side of the bowl, while Charles almost fell to the floor. Quickly, both of them stood back up and went to look like they were doing something. 

“Greetings!” A larger voice echoed around the bakery, “I have come for a-”

Delia’s eyes grew wide as she looked at the man in front of her, “Otho! My gosh, I haven’t seen you in months!” She walked over to the guest, as Charles grew even more confused. 

“Delia, dear, I’ve missed seeing you,” The man, Otho, smiled slightly at the sight of the bubbly woman, “None of my new disciples are nearly as dedicated as you are,” Disciples?

“I got a new job, I haven’t had the time to visit in awhile,” Delia seemed to quickly realize that Charles had no idea what was happening, “Oh, Otho, uh, this is my partner, Charles,”

“Business partner,” The man cut in.

Delia nodded, “Yes, my business partner. Charles, this is my old Guru Otho! He’s a miracle worker, really,” She seemed gush. Charles couldn’t help but grow even more confused at the weird air this ‘Guru Otho’ seemed to be letting out. Something wasn’t right here. 

“Well, as I was saying before, I two hundred or so cupcakes for a recruitment party I am throwing,” Otho looked up at the clock, “I must be going, but I should be able to pick them up in a week,” He began to exit, but he turned to Delia before he left, “Stop by, if you can, and Delia, dear, you know what type I like,” The woman nodded mindless, and the man was gone. 

Charles exited from behind the counter and went up to the window, watching as the man went up the escalator, “That’s him,” 

Delia seemed to break from her daze, “What?”

“He stole the PX-whatever serum,” He stated plainly. 

“Otho?”

“Yes,”

The redhead shook her head, “He would never. After All, his whole life is dedicated to helping nature and bettering the world,” 

Charles looked at the starstruck woman, “Yeah, no. It’s him, I just know it,” 

“How about,” Delia went back to the back of the counter, “Tonight, we break into his place, just to put all of your thoughts at ease,” 

“Really?” He looked at the woman.

“Of course, be here at a midnight,” She paused, a small smirk on her lips, “After all, I need to prove to you that Otho would never do anything like that,” She began to walk to the back room, “Now come on,”

“What?”

“We have to make two hundred cupcakes in a week, hurry up,”

\---------

“Of course you have to go to bed,” Charles aggressively whispered into his phone, “And, that means at a good hour, I don’t want to get back home and you’re still in the living room,” He paused and crossed his arms, “Love you too, remember, if you don’t burn the house down you get McDonald’s. Bye.” He hung up his phone and sighed into his hand. Lord knew how hard it was to get a teenager in bed at a decent time. 

“You’re a good father,” Delia’s voice made him jump. He quickly turned around, glaring at the woman who was leaning against the wall.

“Look at you,” Charles gestured to the clothing she had on, “I didn’t know you could even look at a color darker than blue,” She swatted at his arm teasingly.  
“I’m a spy, of course I own black clothing,” She got serious, “Now, are you ready to be proven wrong?”

Charles laughed, “You wish,” The two slowly crept up the frozen escalators, making sure to lay low. Quickly, they made it to the store, “Now, kick it open or something cool,” He whispered, waiting to see Delia do something super extra, only for her to pull a large keychain from her pocket, “Keys, really?”

Delia began to hold them up to the lock, trying to find one that fit, “Yes, really, I’m not breaking into my Guru’s shop,” Charles began to rock back and forth on his heels as he looked around, watching as the security guards got closer and closer.

“Hurry up!” He waved her on, “Someones coming-”

“Hey!” A loud voice boomed, causing both of the spies to turn around and look at the speaker, “What are you doing- Delia?” 

The redhead nodded as she closed her eyes, the flashlight shining brightly in her eyes, “Yeah, Trever? Can you lower that?” 

The guard seemed to understand what he was doing, “Sorry,” He put up his flashlight, “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in months,” 

Delia seemed to be racking her mind, “I, was, uh, becoming one with the Earth,” She turned to Charles, “And, I even found my own disciple,” She pointed to the Deetz, “But, I seemed to have lost my key for Otho’s shop, could you help me out?” 

The guard pulled out his own keychain, that had a significantly less amount of keys than Delia’s did, “Of course, anything for an old friend,” He quickly unlocked the door, “Don’t mess anything up though, you know Otho will have your head for that,” 

Delia smiled weakly, “Of course,” She began to pull a, once more, confused Charles into the shop, “I owe you one,” With that, the guard left. 

“What was that?” Charles asked the moment they had entered the shop.

Delia shook her head, “I know people,” As she moved, she pulled out a pair of high tech glasses, “You wanna wear them?” 

Charles took them from her fingers, “Sure, why not,” He placed him over his eyes, “What does Otho even sell anyway?”

“Is spiritual enlightenment not enough,” She smiled, “No, I think he sells vegan cookies, they’re quite good!” Delia paused, “Do the goggles even work?” Charles turned to look at her, but immediately turned away, his stomach rolling at the sight of organs and bones a like. “Well?”

Charles weakly nodded and turned to look at the wall, “Yes, they work,” Suddenly he found something, a metal container, behind a weird painting of a mountain. “There,” He pointed to it.

Delia quickly moved to the painting, and pulled it open, “I feel like I’m in a spy movie,” Charles heard her mutter, and he rolled his eyes. A safe was set in the wall, “He always uses the same code for everything,” She told the man as she opened it, relieving a jar of something. “Cookie dough?” 

Charles ripped the glasses from his face, “What?” 

“It’s just cookie dough,” Delia reached in and grabbed a chunk, “It looks like it’s a snickerdoodle,” She tasted it and moaned, “This is fantastic, try some,” She held out the jar.

“I don’t want any of your vegan cookie dough,” Delia shot him a pouty look, “Fine, one taste,” Okay, so maybe this was the best cookie dough he’s ever had. 

“We should go,” Delia spoke with a mouthful of the dough, “Before we eat this all,” 

“What about the serum?” Charles didn’t look up from the jar.

Delia pulled it away, “It’s not here, let’s go,” She put the jar into the safe and shut it. “You need sleep and I need to work,” She began to drag Charles out of the shop, making sure to grab a pamphlet as she went, to make it look like they were doing what they had said. 

As they left, Delia shot Trever a quick thank you. They quickly made their way back to their own cars. 

“That was fun,” Delia smiled as she leaned against her Beetle, “See you tomorrow, partner,” She shot Charles a soft smile and got into her car and drove away, leaving the oldest Deetz alone in the parking lot.

Charles just stood there, frozen in shock. Why was his heart racing, his cheeks burning? Why did his stomach feel like it was full of butterflies? Lord, he needed to sleep.

\-------

Charles was trash. Not in the way his children meant it when they said it, no, he was currently inside of a trash can, thus making him trash. This had to be one of the weirdest things he’s ever done. In front of him, a bold sign said ‘Miss Argentina’s Palace’ in large font. 

“This is suspect 8, Maria, former Miss Argentina, turned store owner,” Delia’s voice came from a trash can beside Charles’ own. 

“And, why do we think it’s her?” Charles looked through a pair of binoculars, zooming in on a taller woman with pinkish hair. Not the villain type.

Delia seemed to pause, “I honestly don’t know. Can you get closer?” 

Charles was about to answer, when a man started walking towards him, the binoculars in front of him stating ‘Very Hot’ in bright letters. No, no. This was not happening. Charles quickly rose and began to run away, much to the confusion of everyone around. 

“Charles!” Delia yelled as she watched him go. She winced as she saw the oldest Deetz fall down the escalator in a cartoonish manner and come slowly to a stop by the fountain. She quickly threw off her own trash can and made her way down stairs, hoping that he was hurting too badly.

\------

That hurt. It hurt like hell, and it took everything in Charles to not burst into tears in front of everyone in the mall. 

“Dad?” Charles looked up to see a very confused Lydia and Laurence standing over him.

He forced a weak smile onto his lips, “Hello, kids, what are you doing at the mall?” 

Lydia shrugged, “We wanted to see you work,” She saw the trash can that laid at the base of the escalator, “So you’re saving the world in a trash can?”

“Ha, ha, very funny,” Charles began to sit up.

“Hey, are you okay?” He turned to see an out of breath Delia jogging up to them.

“As fine as one can be after falling while wearing a trash can,” The redhead winced slightly before turning to the younger two Deetz.

“I’m guessing this is Lydia and Laurence?”

Laurence raised his hand, “I go by BJ, it’s short for blowjob,” He smirked as the woman’s cheeks grew redder.

“His middle name is Beetelguese,” Charles quickly stated, earning a soft chuckle from his partner. Lord, why did that make his heart pound?

“So,” Lydia looked at the woman, analyzing her, “You’re a spy?” 

Delia looked around to see if anyone was looking before nodding, “I am,” She then paused, “Happy late birthday, by the way, thirteen is an important year,” 

Charles rose to his feet, hissing at the pain, “How about you two go buy some mall junk, food, toys, whatever? Me and Delia-”

“Delia and I,” Laurence corrected, a mischievous smirk on his lips.

“Sure, whatever, we have work,” He pulled out his wallet and handed them whatever cash he had, “Just don’t buy drugs!” 

Lydia gave him a look, and hugged him, making sure she could whisper into his ear, “You like her, don’t you?” 

Charles pushed her away, “No, now go have fun,” The girl began to run away, pulling her brother as she went. He slowly turned to look at his partner, slightly annoyed by the stupid smile on her lips, “What?”

Delia’s smile just widened, “Nothing,” She paused, “They love you, I bet you're a fun dad,” Charles smiled to himself.

“Yeah,” He clapped his hands together, “Now, let’s go find our lab thief!”

\------

Charles was back to Miss Argentina’s Palace, this time with a fancy high tech belt and an earpiece. “Okay, I’m going in,”

“If it picks up any traces of the serum, your belt buckle will make a sound like,” Delia’s voice rang out through the headset. Soon after, she started doing a sound that was close to the sound a cat and bird mix would make when screaming.

“Okay! I get it, stop!” He hissed, trying to act as normal as possible, which was hard with someone like Delia talking to you. He walked through the grand doorway of the store, immediately feeling out of place among the fancy clothing. 

“Welcome to Argentina,” A rich voice pulled his attention away from jewels in the corner, “Charles Deetz,” 

The man was taken back by the fact the woman knew his name, “How’d you-”

The chair behind the desk turned around, revealing the woman, Maria, who was dressed in an elegant sparkling red dress, something normal people would turn away from, “Know your name? Well, that’s quite simple,” She rose to her towering height. Fuck. “I take notice of anyone who comes into this mall and has a style such as, er, yours,” The smile on her face spoke many words. Lord, what had he gotten himself into? 

“Style such as mine?” Charles looked down at his clothing. The belt was a bit much, but other than that, he saw nothing wrong with his clothing choices.

“Yes,” Maria began to move around the store, picking up random pieces of clothing as she went, “No color, you look like a sad nino,” 

“You’re going to have to move around a bit more,” Delia’s voice came through the headpiece. Charles rolled his eyes and began to follow the former Miss Argentina. He stopped by a painting of some war, his eyebrow’s creased. 

“You like the painting?” Maria turned to him, setting the clothing down on a table top.

“Nothing,” Delia stated calmly. 

Charles shook his head and moved to a rack full of over the top suit jackets, making sure to 

“And look at your hair,” That pulled Charles from his trance.

His hand went to his hair, “What about it?” 

“Nothing in the rack,” He ignored Delia’s words and followed the Argentinian woman over to a far wall. She picked up a hair gel from a shelf.

“This will hide your greys better,” She handed him a smaller sized container. Charles himself had never truly cared much for dying and grooming his hair, so it stayed short and grey, “It’s quite a turnoff to certain women, grey hairs. This is a gel that will cover your greys for a day or so, a tester of sorts,” She handed him the gel, “If you like it, come back and I’ll dye your hair fully,” Charles moved closer to the shelf, looking at all the shades of hair colors. He almost felt like he was just in a store, buying products for-

“MEE-MO-MEE-MO-MEE-MO!” Delia’s voice rang loudly in his earpiece, making the oldest Deetz jump back in surprise, “I’ve got something, behind the shelf,” She explained, excited. 

“Trust me, this will help you,” Maria flashed him a suggestive smile. Who knows, maybe this will work. Maybe-

“Dad!” Laurence ran up into the store, out of breath. He began to pull on his father’s sleeve. Maria herself looked disgusted at the sight of a child in her store, but Charles just looked at the boy in confusion, “Lydia’s got a girlfriend!” 

It took a moment for the words to sink in, “What?! Where is she?” He pulled Laurence out into the mall area and scanned around. 

“Charles?” Delia’s voice came over the headpiece, but he quickly clicked it off. 

“Over there,” Charles took no time to see where he was going, he just started moving as quickly as possible. He finally stopped outside of the store he broke into merely a day ago. No… “She’s in there!” Laurence pushed the doors open.

Charles followed his son in, but quickly spotted his daughter, sitting at a table, with a girl. No, this could not be happening, “Hello, Lydia,” He gave her a look. 

“Hey, dad,” Lydia meekly waved, “You have to try these cookies!” 

“I will not eat vegan cookies, thank you,” He turned to the girl that was sitting next to his daughter, “And, who is this lovely lady?”

The girl blushed slightly, “Hi, my name is Sky,” She lightly waved.

“I don’t care,” Charles turned to grab his daughter. “Let’s go,” 

“Charles,” Shit. The oldest Deetz turned to look at Otho, “It’s good to see you. I see that you’ve met my niece, Sky,” 

“Yes, but we must be going,”

Otho looked confused, “So soon?”

Charles nodded, “Yes, we have big plans for tonight,”

"We do?" Laurence earned a glare from his father.

“Well,” The plumper man paused, “Why don’t you come to my Enlightenment Party, this weekend,” He noticed how no one was reacting, “It has free food,” 

Laurence reached for a cookie on the table, much to his father’s annoyment, “I’m in,” 

“Then it’s settled,” Otho clapped his hands together, a soft smile on his face, “Plus, we can see what this young love blossoms into,”

Charles put his hand up, “No,” He began to walk out the door, “Goodbye,” 

He didn’t like Otho, no, not at all. Something inside him told him that this man was the one who stole the lab, that he had the serum. But, why? He fully intended to prove it.

\------

Well, a quick search on Google proved two things. First, that Otho was practically a blank slate, the internet only bringing up his website when he searched. Two, the internet at his house was ridiculously slow. 

As the screen was filled with the loading symbol, his mind went to his partner. What would it say if he looked her up? He slowly pulled out his phone, and typed her name into Google, the curiosity too much for him. 

The first thing that came up was her connection with Otho. Then, a link to her wedding pictures. What? He didn’t know her that well, but Charles was sure Delia had never brought up the fact that she was married. He clicked on the tab, ready to look, when suddenly the sound of the doorbell echoed around. The man practically threw his phone in shock and embarrassment. 

“Charles?” Margo’s voice echoed around the large, dark house, “It’s Margo here, I have some very good news,” Charles groaned and sank further in the couch, knowing how this was going to go, “My friend, Leslie here! I was thinking you two could go out, grab some food?” She began to knock harder on the poor wooden door. “Come out!” 

Lydia appeared at the bottom of the staircase, her eyes glued to her phone, “Lydia,” Charles loudly whispered in panic. The teenager just turned to him.

“What are you doing?” 

“Just tell her that I’m not here!” He motioned to the door, his eyes wide. 

The teen crossed her arms, “What’s in it for me?” 

“I don’t care,” Margo knocked harder, “Just tell her that I’m not here,” 

Lydia rolled her eyes, “I get to go to the hippy party,”

“Fine,” Margo shouted something, “Just get rid of her,”

“Great doing business with you,” She walked to the door, “Uh, he’s not here,” In the most bored tone possible. 

Margo let out an annoying laugh, “His car’s here, so he’s here,” She seemed to pause, “You know what, just tell him to be ready at seven for a casual date,” 

Lydia turned to her father, a smirk on her face, “Can do,” She listened to the two woman walk away, “You are so screwed,” 

Charles just rubbed his hand over his face, “Sometimes, I hate you,”

\--------

Charles had never felt as awkward as he did when his was sitting across from this stranger, Leslie. She was rambling about some new fitness program she started and picked at her salad, “..., You know, I was scared to meet you?” 

Charles let out an uncomfortable laugh, “You were?”

“Yeah,” She waved her fork around and pushed back a strand of pitch colored hair, “Margo told me you were graying, and were older,” Charles looked down, at his plate, “But, obviously, she was lying,” 

Charles’ hand went to his hair, which was basically drenched in that gel that Maria had given him. “Ha, yeah,” As he brought his hand down, he realized it was covered in a larger amount of the gel. Nope. Nope, that wouldn’t end well. Not with this woman. Leslie seemed to be someone completely attracted to looks alone, and seemed willing to make a scene if she wanted to. 

“There’s just so many fakers out there,” She stuffed a large chunk of lettuce in her mouth, “So, do you work out?”

One white lie wouldn’t be horrible, not if he had no plans to see her ever again, “Yeah, I try to,” 

Leslie shot him a look of judgement, “Well, obviously, we should raise the intensity,” Charles laughed nervously, and wiped his forehead. Was it getting warmer in here? “It’s quite important to me,” She raised her sleeve to show off her muscular arms, “As you can tell,” 

“Yeah,” He forced a smile. 

“And your accent,” She gave him a strange look, “It’s so normal,”

“Thanks…?”

She waved him off, “I have a vocal coach that can help you get an exciting one, I’m only in to Brits and so forth,” 

“Oh… thanks,” He looked down at his half eaten pasta, “How’s the food?” 

“It’s okay,” It grew silent between the two. Gods, why did he agree to come to this date, “Oh, you have something in your hair,” Her fingers moved to pull something from his hair, “There…” She looked at her hand, “What the… is that paint?” She looked at him with wide eyes.

Dear Lord, “No, it’s not paint-”

“You dumped paint on your hair to hide the grey? You are a phony,” She moved to touch his head again, only for him to pull away. This was one of the reasons he didn’t date. Because of women like her, “You had the nerve to try to lie to me,” Her voice got louder, grabbing the attention of some of the other guests at the restaurant. Charles just sunk lower into his seat, “I’m going to throw this glass of water on you, and let everyone in this place learn how much of a lying fraud you-” Suddenly, Leslie froze then fell face first into the plate of ranch drenched salad. 

“Uh,” He poked at the woman, “Hello?” 

“Hey, Charles,” Delia appeared out of nowhere, a bright smile on her face. Lord, he had never been so happy to see the AVL agent. 

“Uh,” He still didn’t know what to do about the woman whose face was in her food, “Delia, what are you doing here?” 

She held up a bag “They have the best vegan spaghetti here,” She looked down at Charles’ unconscious date, “Wow, looks like your date’s out for the count. It’s like she’s been shot with a mild moose tranquilizer,” Leslie let out a moose like sound. Delia seemed to try to be winking, and much to Charles’ amusement, she was failing, “I’m winking ‘cause that’s what actually happened,” She let out one of her lighthearted giggles, which made Charles blush. 

A waiter suddenly appeared at the table, very confused by the whole scene, “Did she, uh, not like the food?” 

Delia quickly shook her head, “No, she is a bit-” She made a drink guestered. The waiter slowly left, concerned, but not saying anything else. Delia turned back to her spy partner, “Well, how about we get her home?”

\------

“You know,” Delia shut the door to Leslie’s house, and sighed, knowing that finally, they could relax for the night, “At least that was the worse date, it can only get better,” She sat next to Charles on the top step of the porch, and stared into the street.

“That’s true,” He let his head fall into his hands, taking in the mess that had been considered a date. 

Delia softly smiled at the man, “You know, you could always borrow my dart gun. Lord above knows how many dates it’s helped me get out of,” Charles nodded and turned to her. The first thing that caught his eye was, as he suspected, the lack of a wedding ring on her finger. She wasn’t married, at least not anymore. But, he also couldn’t help the breath that caught at the sight of the agent in the moonlight. 

“I think I’m good on dates for a while,” He paused, “It was first since she died,” At the questioning look Delia was giving him, Charles continued, “Since Emily died,” 

“Oh,” Delia awkwardly looked down at her fingers.

Dammit, Charles, say something, “I heard that you were married once,” Not that. Why’d he say that?

A sad smile came onto the redhead’s face, “Yeah…” 

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Uh, sure?” She rubbed the back of her neck, “I was just out of college, he was charming. I knew him for like, uh,” She looked up trying to remember, “Five months or so when he popped the question, and I said yes,” She rubbed her left hand’s ring finger, “We were married for about six months before he left. Turns out he was gay!” She did slow jazz hands, an off look on her face, “I learnt my lesson there,” 

Honestly Charles didn’t know what to say to that. He just nodded and looked down at his watch, “Oh!” He quickly rose to his feet, “I’ve got to go, I’m so sorry,” Delia rose as well, her signature bright smile back on her rosy lips. 

“It’s fine,” She rose as well and dusted off her dress, “I should be going too, paperwork won’t do itself,” 

Charles let out a soft chuckle as he looked at the woman, “Yeah,” 

“This was surprisingly fun, and, just between the two of us,” She leaned closer to him, “You look better with grey hair,” She placed a quick kiss on Charles’ cheek, caught up in the moment, “Well, see you tomorrow,” And she got in her car and left, leaving Charles alone in a stranger’s yard. 

She had kissed him. Delia Schlimmer had kissed him on the cheek. A soft smile grew on his lips. Maybe he liked her more than he realized.

\-------

As Charles made his way back to the mall, nothing could wipe the smile from his lips. Hell, he had been so happy that he had even made heart shaped pancakes, much to Lydia’s annoyance. Yes, it was a good day. As he arrived on the second floor, something caught his eye. Or, a few people did. 

“Juno?” He couldn’t help the amount of confusion that coated the words. 

The woman threw him a side eye glance and went back to the paperwork in her hands, “Oh, hello,” 

Charles’ eyebrows rose, “What are you doing here?” This was the last place he would have thought a person like Juno would go. 

“We caught her,” She pointed an unlit cigarette at him.

“Who?” 

She chewed on the deathstick, “Maria, our agents came in last night and found this,” She pulled a bag with an empty jar in it out of nowhere, “It’s empty, but we found traces of the PX-41 serum in it. So, she’s our crook,” 

Charles opened his mouth to say something, when he noticed the pink haired Argentinian woman being dragged out of her store, “Get your hands off me,” She pushed one of the men holding her off, “I was framed, I would never do this,” The man went to grab her, “I can walk perfectly fine,” She snapped, hitting him with her hand. Neither of the agents holding her listened, and they quickly dragged her downstairs. Charles winced at each shout. 

“Uh,” He tried to tune it out, “What’s next?”

“Well, you are free to go back to, what was it,” Juno turned to him with bored eyes, “Ah, yes, jams and jellies,” 

Charles winced at the thought of going back to his business alone, Maxie no longer there, “And, what about Delia?”

“Agent Schlimmer,” Juno stressed out the name, “Is going to be transferred to our Australian branch,” She turned back to the crime scene in front of her, “Thanks for the little work you did while with us, enjoy your jams,” 

“Australia,” No, that couldn’t be right. Delia was going to stay, right? She couldn’t be leaving, not when he just realized that he liked her. No-

“Hey,” Delia’s soft voice broke his train of thought. Her eyes were sad, why were they sad?

“Hey,” 

She gave him a weak punch in the arm, a small smile on her lips, “So, we got her,”

“Yay,” He bit his lip, “So, you’re going to Australia?” He knew the answer. He didn’t want to believe it. 

“Well, it’s not definite yet. Still figuring it out. Already been working on my accent,” She gave him a goofy look, “Wallbay, didgeridoo, Hugh Jackman,” It was the cheesiest accent he had ever heard, and he let out a small laugh at it. He couldn’t help but notice the blush that was creeping up the AVL agent’s face.

“It’s great,” You’re great. Stop, Charles, she’s leaving, “Well, goodluck,” He turned to leave, hoping to find somewhere else to nurse his broken heart. 

“Wait!” Delia grabbed his shoulder. A glimmer of hope filled Charles, “I wanted to give you this,” She pulled out a tub of lipstick and placed it in his hand.

Charles looked at it, his fingers rubbing over the golden letters on the side, “Your lipstick taser?” 

“Yeah,” She said far too loudly, “Uh, a memento, of when we first met,” The whole experience flashed in the Deetz’ mind, pulling a real laugh from the man.

“Thanks so much,” He couldn’t take his eyes off of it. Suddenly, he realized, it was now or never. He just needed to tell her-

“Delia!” Juno’s rough voice pulled both of the partner’s attention. 

Delia looked at him sadly, “It sounds like they need you,” Charles hated how true it was. They needed her. She didn’t need him. He just wanted to stay where he was, with this strange woman. 

Delia nodded and looked at the ground, “Well, I guess this is goodbye,” And then she was gone. And then he was alone. 

\-------

Charles was once more sitting on a porch, this time his own. And this time, he was alone. The weather around reflected his mood, rain drenching him to the bone. But, this is how it was supposed to be. He was an ex-villain, a widowed fool. She was the good guy. 

“You’re going to get sick sitting out here,” Lydia suddenly appeared beside him, an umbrella in her hand. Charles shook his head. “Why are you out here? Did they discontinue your cologne brand?” She snickered to herself.

“No,” He weakly looked at his daughter, “Do you remember when, in the mall, you asked me if I liked Delia?” The girl nodded, confused, “Well, you were right,” 

“Sick! So, when’s your first date?” She then paused, “Or, are you like this because she said no? I understand she’s a spy, but I’ll fight her for you-”

“She’s moving to Australia,” Charles cut off his daughter, “And, I’ll never see her again,” Lord, why was he so bad at love?

Lydia seemed to be thinking, “Is there anything I can do to help?” 

“I’m afraid not,”

“Why don’t you call her then, see if she would stay for you,” Lydia suddenly said, turning to her father.

The man darkly chucked to himself, “Why would she risk her whole future for a man she doesn’t know that well?” 

“Love,” She stated as if it was the most simplest thing in the world, “At the mall, she just had this look of love. It was almost sickening..." 

“She did?” 

“Yeah,” Lydia schooled her features, “Now, pretend I’m Delia. What would you say to her over the phone to get her to stay?”

“Hello, Delia.” He took a breath, “This is Charles,” He paused, thinking about what to say next, “I know up to this point our relationship has been strictly professional, and you’re leaving for Australia and all, but...” He couldn’t say it. No, he had to. If he couldn’t say when she wasn’t around, how was he ever supposed to ask the redhead? “Okay, here is the question,” He could do it. He would do it, “Would you like to--to go out on a date?”

Lydia seemed to think over the words, “She’d probably say yes, but,” The girl paused, “Make sure to be yourself,” 

Charles weakly smiled at the girl, “Don’t you have an enlightenment party to get ready for? Or a girl?” He smirked at his daughter’s blush. 

“Yeah,” She rose to her feet, leaving the umbrella in her father’s grasp, “You get your girl, I’ll get mine,” Then she left. Sometimes, it felt weird to think of her as a teenager. She had grown so much, so quickly, after Emily died. 

Charles pulled out his phone and quickly found Delia’s contact. Could he do it? And, what if she said no? He’d call her later, after all, she was probably packing. Yes, later.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh! If you guys know any great Grucy fanfics or have any prompts, I'm always open for ideas! The next part should be out soon! Thanks for Reading! I need something else to do than watch Hamilton for the hundredth time...


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